Cognos to complete offer for Frango

This offer is not directed to persons whose participation requires a further prospectus, registration or measures other than those required under Swedish law. The press release may not be distributed or released in any country in which distribution or the offer requires measures as stated in the preceding paragraph or is in contravention of the rules in such a country. This announcement is a translation of the Swedish announcement and in the event of any difference between the two, the Swedish announcement will prevail. Cognos to complete offer for Frango OTTAWA, ON and BURLINGTON, MA, September 29, 2004, Cognos Incorporated (Nasdaq: COGN; TSX: CSN) The acceptance period for the Cognos offer to the shareholders of Frango AB (publ) ("Frango"), made on August 24, 2004, ended on September 27. As of today, Cognos confirms that it controls shares representing 96.7% of the capital and 98.0% of the votes of Frango, corresponding to 93.7% of the capital and 96.1% of the votes after full dilution. As all of the conditions of the tender offer have now been met, Cognos has on this date declared that its offer is unconditional and that it will commence payment of the offer price to shareholders tendering their shares pursuant to the offer. Payments will commence and the transaction will be completed on or about October 1, 2004. Cognos will permit shareholders who have not accepted the offer during the initial acceptance period to tender their shares pursuant to an extended acceptance period in the offer until the end of business on October 8, 2004. For those shareholders accepting the offer during the foregoing extended acceptance period, payments are expected to begin on or about October 15, 2004. Cognos reserves the right to acquire additional shares of Frango in the market. As soon as possible, Cognos intends to take the necessary actions to (a) obtain compulsory redemption of the outstanding minority shares in Frango, and (b) delist the series B-shares of Frango from the Stockholmsbörsen. If any questions, contact Steve Milmore, Cognos, at +1-781-313-2403 or Rick McLaughlin, Lois Paul & Partners, +1-781-782-5752. Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, Cognos intent to obtain the outstanding minority shares in Frango, delist Frango and pay for the shares in Frango tendered pursuant to the offer made on August 24, 2004. These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: differences in Frango's actual business and operating condition/ capabilities from the condition/capabilities determined based on the due diligence process; Cognos ability to efficiently integrate Frango and the ease in which Frango can be integrated; the existence of regulatory barriers to integration; Cognos ability to retain Frango personnel; Cognos ability to maintain revenue growth or to anticipate a decline in revenue from any of its products or services; Cognos ability to develop and introduce new products and enhancements that respond to customer requirements and rapid technological change; new product introductions and enhancements by competitors; Cognos ability to compete in an intensely competitive market; Cognos ability to select and implement appropriate business models and strategies; fluctuations in its quarterly and annual operating results based on historical patterns; currency fluctuations; tax rate fluctuations; the impact of global economic conditions on Cognos business; unauthorized use of Cognos intellectual property; claims by third parties that Cognos software infringes their intellectual property; the risks inherent in international operations, such as currency exchange rate fluctuations; Cognos ability to identify, hire, train, motivate, and retain highly qualified management and other key personnel; and Cognos ability to identify, pursue, and complete acquisitions with desired business results; as well as the risk factors discussed in Cognos most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other periodic reports filed with the SEC. Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Cognos disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statement to reflect any change in its expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. ABOUT COGNOS Cognos, the world leader in business intelligence and corporate performance management (CPM), delivers software that helps companies drive, monitor and understand corporate performance. Cognos delivers the next level of competitive advantage - Corporate Performance Management - achieved through the strategic application of BI on an enterprise scale. Our integrated CPM solution helps customers drive performance through planning; monitor performance through scorecarding; and understand performance through business intelligence. Cognos serves more than 22,000 customers in over 135 countries. Cognos enterprise business intelligence and performance management solutions and services are also available from more than 3,000 worldwide partners and resellers. Cognos is traded on NASDAQ (COGN) and on The TSX in Toronto (CSN). Cognos reported revenues of USD 683m and a net income of USD 101m for the financial year ending February 29, 2004, in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. For more information, visit the Cognos Web site at http:// www.cognos.com. ABOUT FRANGO Frango is a leading European software company founded in 1987 enabling finance and business managers to plan, report, consolidate, monitor and analyse business information - a process generally known as Corporate Performance Management. More than 1,300 corporate customers and organisations worldwide currently rely on Frango for enhancing their understanding of corporate performance and for gaining access to timely and relevant information for improved decision-making. Headquartered in Stockholm, Frango operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries in sixteen countries throughout Europe, the Far East and the USA. These businesses are complemented by operations in a further ten countries through a network of distributors. Frango's Series B shares are listed on the Stockholm Exchange (Stockholmsbörsen) under the symbol FRAN B. For more information, visit the Frango Web site at http:/ / www.frango.se. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/09/29/20040929BIT00040/wkr0001.pdf